from the web -
Another song based on a real person is 'Isaac Lewis,' a Welsh sailor who died in the 1859 shipwreck of the 'Royal Charter' in the stormy waters near his home village of Moelfre. The ship had been to Australia and was 70 miles from Liverpool when it went down. The villagers of Moelfre, including Lewis' father, watched the tragedy unfold but couldn't get lifelines to the ship in time. When Lewis washed up on shore, it was beside his father's house. Tom has crafted Lewis' story into an epic narrative ballad that can stand tall beside such traditional masterpieces as 'Lord Franklin.'

I would have thought that a story like this would have spawned a song before Tom's.
Chris